Bean-sorting device



Jarra., LIM@ Lg L. A. MEDCALF v BEAN SORTING DEVICE l Filed April 18.1922/@ 2 shees-g/et 1 s v Asn,

I Ag'- mmm@ L. A. MEDCALF BEAN SORTING DEVICE Filed April 18. 1922 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented dan. l, i924.

aunar LEEv A. MEDCALF, QF FAIBGROVE, MICHIGAN.

BEAN-SORTING DEVICE.

applicati@ mea April 1s, 1922. serial No. 554,566.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LEE A. MnnoALr, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Fairgrove, in the county of Tuscola and Stateof Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBean-Sorting Devices, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to bean sorting devices and the like,andfparticularly to :a devicev for sorting the beans into theirrespective grades before being taken to the elevators or otherwisedisposed of.

@ne object of the invention is to provide a simple and yinexpensivemachine which will sort and separate the beans into four or moredistinct and separate grades.

Another object of the invention is to design a machineequipped withscrapers and brushes for agitating and rolling the beans fed onto thesorting table, to the end that the different grades will be diverted androll into the proper channels and be scraped into (separate spouts .orpockets.

A further object is to design a small and compact sorting machinev whichcan be utilized and operated by each individual bean grower as well asby the bea-n elevators, and which can be constructed in units toincrease the machine to any desired capacity.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consistsin the co1nbination andv arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularlypointed out in the .appended claims, it being understood thatchange's'may f be made in the form, size, proportion and minor detailsof construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of the invention.

Fig. l is a top plan 'view of my improved sorting machine.

Fig. 2 is'a vertical cross sectional view thereof taken on the line 2-2of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vfragmentary view illustrating the small rollingpaddles in two different positions.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric View of one of the wirelbrushes.V

Fig. 5 is also an enlarged fragmentary isemetrc view. of one et theScrapers.

Fig. 6 is a 'fragmentary sectional view of the sorting tableillustrating the dust, dirt and sand openings.

Fig. 7 is a similar alternate view illustrating the sorting tableprovided with a rubber top.

Fig. 8 is a view to illustrate that these sorting tables can besuperimposed one above the other and thereby increase the machinecapacity as desired.

Well developed perfectly formed beans when ripe and harvested are or' arounded slightly oblong shape, and will-'readily roll on a flat table ifgently agitated, or if the table is tilted, and bean elevators areusually established in or near each beanl growing district, theseelevators purchase the crop from the grower, and are equipped withscreens over which the beans are fed when purchased and the grower ispaid for the screened beans, the cracked (or half. beans) and undersizedbeans are termed the screenings, and these are not returned toV thegrower, nor is hepaid therefor. In all elevators a considerable quantityof good beans screen into these screenings together with irregularshaped, undersized and cracked beans. Irregular shaped beans may becaused by blight yor general adverse weather conditions, but are of thesaine food value as the perfectly shaped beans, and further, the crackedbeans are exactly as good and nutritious, but the fact that they `aresplit in halt detracts from the commercial value thereof. hey canhowever be sold as cracked beans and bring a fair price, and I havetherefore designed a machine whichy willv closely pick' and sort thelbeans into different grades and thereby eliminate the screening'.rFliese machines can be owned. andrused by the grower or .can beinstalled in the elevators at any desired capacity.

Referring now particularly to the drawings, in which4 I' have shown thepreferred embodiment of my invention, the machine comprises a round flattable l which is supported on the member 2, which is hollow as shown,the flange 2a beingrigidly secured to the underside ofthe table, thishollow member is suitably connected to the hollow vertically disposedshaft- 3 which is journaled in the end as shown, this bearing beingspaced from the floor line and is supported by means'of stays 0r braces5 and 6 secured to the bearing and anchored to the floor, a frictionmember 7 is mounted on this ver tically disposed shaft 3 intermediateits length, and is adapted to be rotated by means of a beveled friction8 mounted on the transversely disposed shaft 9 which is journaled insuitable bearings and connected t0 a suitable source of power (notshown), and this vertical shaft?) is setat a slight angle in order thatthe beans will roll thereon whenthe table ris rotated.

The top of this sorting table is preferably flat and can be made up ofwood, sheet metal or a thin casting and can be covered fwith rubber asshown in Fig. 7 of the drawings if desired. An opening 10 is formed inthe center of the table as shown, and for a purpose to be presentlydescribed, a plurality -of small openingsv 11 being formedaround theouter edge "of the table through which dust and fine particles of sandand dirt are adapted to sift asthe `beans are being `fed f onto thetable.

The beans areplaced in a hopper `12 suitably supported above andadjacent the table, the spout l13 thereof being in close proximity tothe topthereof, the lbeans discharging through the spout and onto thetable as it revolves. l also wish to direct particular attention to thefact that the table is inclined as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 8, andthis spout is located at approximately the top or high side thereof.

The hopper is preferably located directly above the small openings inthe outer edge of the table, and is provided with a slide gate 14 toregulate the flow `of beans therefrom, and as the beans discharge thedust, dirt and sand will fall through the openings y11 in the table. Awire brush 15 is positioned at an angle across the top of the table onthe high side, a scraper blade 16 lying adjacent thereto and beingspaced therefrom, the ends of the wires 17 riding on the surface of thetable as does also the scraper 16. A short scraper' blade 18 ispositioned at right angles to these members 15 and 16 and is adapted tobe secured to a scraper 19 which is spaced from the brush 15, and theseScrapers and the brush are adapted to 'be secured together by means ofstays or braces 20 and 21, secured thereto by the use of screws or thelike. A metal band 22 partially surrounds the opening in the center ofthe table, the one end thereof being secured to the end of therscrapermember 129, the opposite-end being connected to the brush 23.1whichextends from the .center tothe outer l.edge of.v the table on the lowside and at an angle to the member 1-9,"a lip 22a .also projectingoutwardly as shown, a .scraper member 211 lies adjacent thefbrush 23`and is spaced therefrom, and these two #members v.are4secu-red..together 1 by -in any suitablemanner, the one end thereofbeing provided with a series of openings 29 adapted to receive adowelpinBO for .securing the stay to the member 27 and toprovide for thechanging and adjusting ofthe brushes and scraper blades on thetable,.;con

sequently it will be obvious that all of these scrapers and brushes aresecured together.

A V-shaped memberBl is provided latthe edge of the table between-themembers23 and 24, the apex being rsecuredrtoitheicross brace 26, and theends can be anchoredfbel yond the edge of the table Vif fdesire'd,andthis member serves to separate the beans which discharge from the 'tablebetween the members 23 and 24 into two separate grades.

A plurality of'small paddles ,32 are pivotally mounted in the 'member233 which Vis positioned adjacent `to and-spaced fromthe scraper 19,links B4: being lmounted on the upper end thereof, the outer ends` ofthese links are pivotally connected to `a shifting member 35 forsimultaneously adjusting these paddles to' any desired iangle, kandthese paddles serve to roll andsdivertthe beans inwardly towards `thedischarge opening in the center as the table revolves, a rim 36 issecured to the members 19 -and.23, and is positioned around the outeredge of the table, one end of a similar rim 37 being anchored to themember 27, the opposite end being anchored to a stationary stay andthese rims prevent the product rolling from the table.

In practise the beans are introducedinto the hopper member 12 which islocated above the machine, the beans discharging through the spout 13and flowingonto the revolving table which carries them `around andagainst the stationary wire brush 16, these wires roll the productandthe perfectly formed beans will roll down lthe passage way betweenthe members 16 and 19 as indicated by the numerous arrows, 4thismovement is .due to the incline of the table and the revolving of thetable which brings the product into Contact with the wire brush, thesebeans strike the scraper blade 241 located on the vlow vside of thetable .and which isalso placed and pitched 'downward and outwardlywithrelation to the .angle thereof. The productie then on the .low sideof the table .and the rotation thereof tends to carry it up the Yinclineand towards the high side, but if the bean is perfectly formed it willroll outwardly and discharge into the spout or pocket 38, and ifirregular in shape or flat, it will ride to the brush 23 which rolls itand causes it to again roll down the inclined table and against thescraper 24, and this is continuously repeated until it has worked to theouter edge of the table and is discharged on either side of the member3l and into either of the pockets 38 or 39. It will of course be un-lderstood that the beans discharging into the pocket 38 are the best #lgrade, the neXt grade being discharged into the pocket 39.

The revolving of the table has a tendency to carry the beans which havecarried to the low side of the table upwardly and against the wire brush23, with the exception of the product which passes through the wirebrush 16, and `which consists of small stones, clods of earth, veryrough beans and other foreign matter, this is forced down the passagewaybetween the scraper 17 and the wire brush and takes the course asindicated by the arrows, being discharged into the pocket 4:0, the rim35 preventing it discharging and rolling off until forced of by thescraper blade 27. The culls, cracked beans and the like are carried upon the high side in the direction of the rotation of the table and asindicated by the arrows the band 34 preventing the product rolling offthe edge, and as they are carried around they are deflected inwardly bythe paddles 32 which are set at an angle as shown, and thence carriedagainst the scraper blade 19 and directed into the discharge opening 10in the center of the table, a suitable brace (not shown) is alsoprovided for anchoring the members 19 and 33 in place.

The product discharginginto the center openings are culls and halfbeans, and fall into the hollow shaft, thence discharging into thesuitable receptacle placed beneath it, it will also be obvious that abelt conveyor may be installed beneath this opening, or they may bedischarged or spouted to a lower floor,also, by moving the brushes andscrapers around and setting them higher on the table a cleaner pickingcan be effected.

As shown in Fig. 8 of the drawing these tables can be superimposed oneabove the other so that the capacity can be increased as desired.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that I have perfecteda very simple, and inexpensive bean sorting machine, which will sort theproduct into several different grades.

What I claim is 1. A bean sorting machine comprising a revolving flattilted table having a plurality of small sand openings around the outeredge thereof, spaced apart brushes and scrapers thereon and stationarywith relation thereto, a plurality of adjustable paddles for forcing theproduct towards the center of the table, and means for adjusting saidpaddles.

2. A bean sorting machine comprising a revolving flat tilted tablehaving a plurality of openings around its outer edgey and provided witha discharge opening in the center thereof, spaced apart Scrapers andbrushes thereon and stationary with relation thereto, a. plurality ofadjustable paddles for forcing the product towards said dischargeopening, manually operable means for adjusting said paddles, and meansfor revolving said table.

3. A bean sorting machine comprising a revolving flat tilted tablehaving a series of brushes and Scrapers engaging the upper face thereof,and provided with a plurality of small openings around its outer edge, apair of spaced apart Scrapers on the high side of the table and betweenwhich the product is fed, and a brush interposed therebetween forrolling the product, a pair of converging scrapers on the low side ofthe table and disposed in angular relation to the first mentionedscrapers and adapted to separate the good beans from the dirt and j"racked product` a second brush spaced from the first mentioned brushfor rolling the product and a plurality of adjustable paddles forforcing the product towards a discharge opening in the center of thetable.

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature.

LEE A. MEDCALF.

